Logos et Littera: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Text (Oct 2015)
NEW PERSPECTIVES ON OLD IDEAS: FRIEDRICH DÜRRENMATT'S PARODIES OF MYTHS AND ARCHETYPES
Abstract
Who dares to portray the demigod Hercules as an inadequate, impotent failure? Who dares to mock tragic heroines like Antigone? Who dares to mock the biblical Judith and her bravery? Who would portray an ideal emperor as one who betrays and sacrifices his empire? The Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt, reconstitutes these famous ancient myths, motifs, symbols and archetypes in his works of art and literature in order to provoke reconsideration of modern-day values such as sacrifice, value of human life, patriotism and bravery. In doing so, he also touches upon issues such as globalization, nationalism and bureaucratization as everyday problems that the individual to rise to his/her heroic potential. The research focuses on Dürrenmatt’s recurring motifs with special emphasis on mythic, historical and biblical figures in the plays Romulus the Great and Hercules and the Augean Stables.
